NCAA Div. I Women: Wisconsin, Penn State tied for Lead After Day One of Big Ten Champs

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Feb. 19. THE Wisconsin women’s swimming and diving team won the 800 free relay in record time to kick off the 2003 Big Ten Championships tonight. The Badgers currently sit in a tie for first place with defending champion Penn State.

“We’re in the position we wanted to be in after day one,” coach Eric Hansen said. “We have high hopes for the rest of the meet so it’s great to start off the way we did.”

In the second and last event of the night, Wisconsin smashed the UW school record, Purdue’s Doris Z. Holloway pool record and the Big Ten record in the 800 free relay. Wisconsin won its fourth-straight Big Ten title in the event with a 7:07.30. The old school record (7:11.97) was set last year at the NCAA championships.

“It was literally the best swim our swimmers have ever had,” Hansen said. “We knocked four seconds off our best record.”

The Badgers held a slight lead over Michigan and Penn State through the first 400 yards of the 800 free relay, but pulled away from the pack in the final 400. Sophomore Carly Piper led off the race and senior Jenny Lyman, swimming in her second relay of the night, stole the lead from Michigan.

Junior Bethany Pendleton entered the water next for Bucky and lengthened the lead while senior Sarah McCauley anchored UW with the best split time of 1:45.55. Wisconsin edged second-place Indiana by six seconds.

Penn State won the first event of the 2003 Big Ten Championships. The team of Sarah Haupt (backstroke, 25.11), Courtney Stanchock (breast, 28.16), Amberle Biedermann (fly 24.02) and Kathryn Hostetler (free, 22.12) clocked 1:39.41, almost a full second ahead of second-place Purdue.

The Big Ten meet kicks into full gear tomorrow with prelims and finals consuming the next three days. Prelims start at 10 a.m., while finals begin at 6 p.m.